


astra inclinant, sed non obligant

by klainelynch



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang Week 2021, Appa isn't actually in the story but his presence looms large, Eastern Air Temple (Avatar), Gen, Pre-Canon, Sky Bisons (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:48:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29702883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klainelynch/pseuds/klainelynch
Summary: "Gyatso, what if none of the sky bison like me? What if they all find different kids and there isn't one left for me?"His mentor smiled and pulled him into his side. "Do not worry, Aang. Every airbender finds their bison at the right moment for them. You have nothing to worry about."
Relationships: Aang & Appa (Avatar)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	astra inclinant, sed non obligant

**Author's Note:**

> I started this piece in NaNoWriMo. This wasn’t the story I was trying to write, but I didn’t want to get rid of it, and I’m glad I saved it because it is sadly the only contribution I’m making to Aang Week (though I’ve loved seeing what everyone else has made!). Prompt is Day 5, Air Temples.

"Gyatso, what if none of the sky bison like me? What if they all find different kids and there isn't one left for me?"

His mentor smiled and pulled him into his side. "Do not worry, Aang. Every airbender finds their bison at the right moment for them. You have nothing to worry about."

It was a nice thing to say, and it helped Aang feel a little bit better, but it wasn't the advice he needed. Aang knew it was silly to worry like this, but he couldn’t help himself. He had always been great with animals, whether it was the lemurs who knew that he would always be willing to sneak them extra treats from Monk Dorji’s stash, or the spiderflies who sometimes ended up in his bedroom and had to be coaxed to freedom with a gentle nudge. A few times, he had offered to help some of the older monks take care of their bison, and they had happily accepted his help. His small arms meant his brushing could only reach so far, but he knew they appreciated the help.

But a sky bison was a friend for  _ life _ .

He couldn’t get this wrong.

They arrived at the Eastern Air Temple early in the morning, along with the other six-year-olds from the Southern Air Temple. Aang knew the boys found their bison in the winter after the girls found theirs in the summer, but he didn't know why. Gyatso explained that's just how things were done. Maybe one of the boys from the Northern Air Temple would know, and Aang made a plan to ask when they arrived that afternoon.

Because they were among the first arrivals, the boys had plenty of time to explore. None of them had returned to the temple since they were born, but they were more intrigued by the forests than the buildings.

"We'll see the temple plenty tomorrow," Aang said. "But we don't have trees like this at home!"

Norbu and  Tshering were the only ones who went with him, but they had a great time running through the dirt paths and airbending up to the tops of the trees so they could see over the entire forest. Aang wondered if they were trying to distract themselves like he was. It was easy to forget your nerves when you were discovering the hidden passageways that led straight to the temple’s kitchens.

“I hope my bison likes me,” Tshering said. His face was covered with jelly from one of the dozen or so tarts that they had acquired, but Aang had never seen such a serious look on his face before. He grabbed Tshering’s hand and squeezed it, murmuring the same comforting words that Gyatso had given him only the day before, but the words felt hollow as they left his lips.

That night, Aang snuck out of the room he was sharing with Gyatso. He hadn't planned on it, but a particularly loud hoot from an owl right outside his window had woken him up, and falling back asleep had proven impossible. At first, he just wandered the corridors of the guest wing they were staying in. Every few doors, there was a statue of a great airbender from the temple, and Aang stopped to look at each one. He wondered what these women were like in real life. Did the statues really look like them? Would they have been happy to be a statue for eternity, or would they have thought it weird? Aang didn't think he would ever want to be a statue where people could talk about you and make judgements without ever knowing you.

At some point, his feet took him near the bison stables. They were all inside for the night, but Aang could hear a few of them snoring. He sat down on a bench and just listened to them and the other bugs who were screaming up a racket.

"Nice night for an outing, isn't it?"

Aang jumped at the voice behind him, and was even more startled when he realized it belonged to the oldest person he had ever seen. The monks on the council were old, but this woman looked even older than them.

"I couldn't sleep—I'm sorry.”

She laughed and made her way to the bench. Aang jumped up and helped her sit down, and she thanked him. Unsure what she wanted, he just returned his attention to the stable. Somewhere in there, hopefully, was the sky bison who would be his friend for the rest of his life. It was thrilling and terrifying.

"I remember getting my Dechen," she said, interrupting his thoughts. "One of the older girls told me to make sure I picked a good bison because there was no going back once you chose, and I was terrified of picking wrong."

"Me too! What if I don't know which one I'm supposed to pick? What if they all seem good, and I don't know who's supposed to be my bison?"

She didn't say anything, and the silence felt overwhelming. Talking felt better. He talked about the older boys who loved their bison, and the way Monk Gyatso took care of Passang, and how much he wanted to have that kind of relationship with his bison, and the adventures he wanted to have as he was finally allowed to travel the world on his own. It felt so freeing to share his every last thought that he had stopped paying attention to the sister.

"Buddy, you have  _ got _ to stop being so self-centered," she finally snapped.

Aang blinked. He didn't get in trouble all that often, but it felt like he had done something wrong, though he wasn't sure why. She must have noticed how confused he was because she rolled her eyes and continued.

"Somewhere in that stable is a sky bison who is just as nervous about meeting you, a sky bison who will also have a say in who their human is, and yet all you've done is talk about how  _ you _ feel and  _ your _ nerves. Did you ever think about the other creature in this partnership?"

He could feel his face redden as he murmured that no, he hadn't. 

“I’ve always been pretty good with animals,” he tried to explain, but the words felt like they weren’t enough.

“Finding your bison isn’t like feeding a lemur or training a bird. Being  _ good with animals _ has diddly squat to do with the relationship an airbender has with their bison.”

Aang shrugged. She was right, of course, but it wasn’t very fun hearing just how wrong that made him. All his nerves came flooding back, worse than before, and he grabbed his stomach as he tried to take a deep breath.

_ What if he wasn’t ready for a sky bison?  _

_ Could he try again next year, or was this his only chance?  _

_ Did he even deserve a bison any more? _

The old woman sighed, though the sound felt very distant to Aang’s ears. "Listen to my words," she said, and he felt the prickle running down his spine even more than the twists in his stomach. He turned and saw two gray eyes pinning him to his seat. "Put your own needs and wants to the side tomorrow. If you go in thinking only of yourself, it will not end well for you. Find the bison who needs you the most, and you and your sky bison will find each other.”

Her words were direct, but Aang recognized them for what they were: high expectations set for someone she considered ready to hear them. 

He could do this. He could find his friend, and be a friend in return. 

Aang took a few deep breaths before he was able to stand up and bow properly, thanking her for her wisdom.

As he made his way back to his bed, he didn’t know who Appa was. He didn’t know that finding his best friend would be as easy as breathing, would feel as natural as the wind whispering in his ears. He didn’t know how much they would have to rely on each other in the years ahead, or what it would feel like to be the only ones left in a world that could never truly understand them.

That night, he simply understood that he had a lot to learn about how this relationship with his sky bison would work. It wasn’t just about him, and he was grateful for that.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is a Latin phrase that means “the stars incline us, they do not bind us.”  
> Find me on tumblr at [klainelynch](https://klainelynch.tumblr.com/)


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